Cleaning device for hairbrushes, combs and the like



Apnl 16, 1968 w. VON WERDER 3, 7

CL ANING DEVICE FOR HAIRBRUSHES, COMES AND THE LIKE Filed July 9, 1965ATTORNEY 0 6804 E a 2232 4/ w a f 08 I III I II a 5% I I United StatesPatent 3,377,646 CLEANING DEVICE FOR HAIRBRUSHES, COMBS AND THE LIKEWilliam Von Werder, Langley Park, Md., assignor to Helen Ozella VonWerder, El Reno, Okla. Filed July 9, 1965, Ser. No. 470,798 4 Claims.(Cl. 15-311) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cylindrical container, havinga central upwardly projecting vertical tube, has a motor interposed inthe upper portion of the central tube. The motor drives a fan by one endof its shaft and bristles at the other end of the shaft within the upperend portion of the central tube. The fan communicates with a vacuumchamber extending around the tube from the fan to the brush chamber. Thefan also provides a current of air downwardly through the central tubewhich agitates cleaning fluid around articles placed on a rack in thebottom portion of the container.

The present invention relates generally to cleaning and sterilizingdevices for hair-brushes, combs and the like which are used in thehairdressing art. This invention incorporates improvements of thecleaning and drying devices disclosed in my prior Patent No. 3,170,181,issued Feb. 23, 1965, for Cleaning and Drying Device.

The object of the present invention is to make an improved hair and dirtremoving device for combs and brushes for use either as a separatedevice, or as an attachment for a cleaning and drying device of the typedisclosed in my prior patent mentioned above.

A further object is to make an efifcctive loose hair removing devicehaving a hair loosening rotating bristle means which will not clog upwith entangled hair on the bristles, but will collect the loosened hairand dirt in a vacuum bag through a suction nozzle located at theperiphery of the rotating bristle means, so as to draw off the hairscentrifugally thrown off from said rotating bristle means after beingremoved from the brush or other article which is being cleaned.

A further object is to mount this rotating hair loosening and removingbristle means on an extension of the shaft of a suction fan whichprovides the vacuum at the suction nozzle.

A further object is to provide a separate motor to operate the rotatingbristle means.

A further object is to adapt the above hair and dirt loosening andremoving device for use as a blower means for supplying air to thecleaning and drying devices of the type disclosed in my prior patent,with or without heater means to serve as a turbulence inducing meansduring the cleaning and drying operation.

Other and more specific objects will become apparent in the followingdetailed description of some preferred forms of the present invention,as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. lis an elevational view partly in section, of a preferred form ofthe invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof in section taken on the line 22 in FIG. 1,and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view partly in section of a the motor 28,

3,377,646 Patented Apr. 16, 1968 modifiedform of the invention whereinseparate motors are used for rotating the bristle means and for thevacuum and blower fan.

In the hairdressing art, combs, brushes and other hairdressingimplements have to be kept clean and the health codes normally requiresterilization of these articles before using them on a new customer.This cleaning and sterilization are time consuming and often difficultprocesses. The present hair removal and cleaning and drying devices makethese processes easy and quick.

As in the previous Patent No. 3,170,181, the present devices comprise acontainer It] for cleaning and drying the articles and brush means ontop for loosening the hair and dirt caught in the articles used by thehairdresser. It will be seen, however, that the present devices afford aquicker and better means of cleaning and drying of these articles, sincethey provide a vacuum to carry away the loosened hair and dirt duringthe preliminary process of brushing out the loose hairs and dirt fromthe articles before they are placed into the cleaning and sterilizingcontainer, where they are thoroughly cleaned and quickly dried for useon the next customer.

The container 10 is preferably cylindrical and has a substantiallycentral vertical tube 12 projecting through the top 14 to form a collar16 with pins 18 for cooperation with the bayonet slots in the base ofthe sleeve 20 of the upper separable unit 22 of the present device,comprising the heater element 24 mounted across the lower end of thesleeve 20, a blower fan 26, driven by a motor 28 mounted centrally insaid sleeve by means of a spider frame support bracket 30. The sleeve 20is closed at the top by a partition 32 serving as the floor of thebristle brush chamber 34 in which the bristle brush rotates. The shaft36 of the bristle brush is driven by which also drives the blower fan26.

A vacuum conduit 38 extends helically around the bristle brush chamber34 which is in the upper end of sleeve 20, from a substantiallyrectangular nozzle opening 40, at one side of the open front of thebristle brush chamber, around the back of said chamber down to a wideopening in the front of the sleeve 20 just below the partition 32.

The tube 12 extends downwardly nearly to the bottom of the container 10,and is supported by legs 42 to form a peripheral air nozzle fordischarging air from the tube 12 radially outwardly along the bottom ofthe container 10. This causes a substantially toroidal circulation ofthe fluid in the container, whether it be some cleaning liquid 44 duringthe cleaning cycle, or just air during the drying cycle.

The container 10 is further provided with a screen support 46 forming afalse bottom on which the articles to be cleaned are placed, during boththe cleaning and the drying cycles. A baffle 48 is mounted to rotatablyslide around the tube 12 over a spider ring 50 which is rigidly fixed inthe container.

A shield 52 extends forwardly from the outer side and the top and bottomof the rectangular suction nozzle opening 40 partially around the openfront of the bristle brush chamber 34. A screen door 54 may be hinged atthe outer end of the shield 52 for closing over the opening to thebristle brush chamber when the brush is not being used.

The partition 32, forming the floor of the bristle brush chamber, iscoextensive with the top of the vacuum conduit 38 in front of the brushchamber and the bottom of 3 he shield 52; and the top of the sleeve 20is coextensive vith the top of the shield 52.

In the modification shown in FIG. 3, the upper separable mit 22'comprises the same arrangement of parts, except hat the sleeve 29 has anadditional motor 58 supported )Il the spider frame support bracket 56,for separately lriving the bristle brush, and the motor 28 driving theFan 26 for producing suction at the nozzle 40 and for )lowing air intothe cleaning and drying container .o produce turbulent circulation withor without heat prolided by the heating element 24 at the bottom ofsleeve Thus in this modification, the load of operating the aristlebrush is not carried by the blower motor and may 9e separately turnedoff when the bristle brush is not in ise, without turning off thecleaning and drying turbu- .ence producing operation.

In either modification, the motor 28 and the heavier element 24 arecontrolled by a three-way switch 66 having an off position, a motor-onposition and a position for turninging on the motor and heater elementsimultaneously.

The heater is never turned on without the fan operating, for obvioussafety precautions. An additional switch 62 is provided in themodifications of FIG. 3 for controlling the separate motor 58 foroperating the bristle brush.

A vacuum bag d3, of sufficient length and porosity to produce negligiblerestriction to the flow of air, is held at its open end by a framearound the rim of the nozzle 40, and may be removed occasionally forcleaning, or replacement if it is disposable.

The screen door 54 is not necessary in the modification shown in FIG. 3,because the bristle brush is turned off when not in use. When using thebristle brush, in any case, the screen door is opened, if there is one,the brush is turned on and the article to be cleaned is held against thebristles which are revolving at high speed in the direction of thenozzle 40. The fiat surface at the bottom of the shield 52 provides aguide surface for the articles, against which they may be steadied whilepresenting different portions of the articles against the periphery ofthe bristle brush, at various an les to permit the bristles of the brushto loosen the hair and loose dirt from the article and throw themoutwardly in the vicinity of the nozzle 40 where they are picked up bythe air stream within the shield space entering the nozzle where thesuction is greatest.

When the loose hair and dirt have been removed, the article is droppedinto the cleaning and drying container through the hinged door 64 in thetop 14 of the container. If the container has a cleaning solution 44 init at the time, and it is necessary to have the baffie 48 in its splashpreventing position under the hinged door, which is normally opened whenthe blower is operating, the articles may be dropped over the back ofthe bafiie into the solution, without turning the blower off. Thearticles are held on the screen 46 off the bottom of the container, sothat the air stream discharged radially at the bottom of the tube 12will have no obstructions in inducing a flow of the cleaning or dryingfluid in the container in a toroidal fashion as shown by the arrows inFIG. 1.

When the articles in the cleaning solution have been sufficientlycleaned, the solution is drawn off through the drain cock 66 and theblower is continued in operation, with the heater on if desired, for thedrying operation. After the drying operation, the battle 48 is moved outof the way and the articles may be readily reached for removal beforethe next cleaning operation is initiated by filling the container with asuitable cleaning solution.

Sterilization may be carried out by a disinfectant in the cleaningsolution or in a following rinse, or the heater element may be turned onlong enough to sufliciently raise the temperature of the cleaningsolution or rinse during the cleaning operation, or of the air duringthe drying operation.

The upper separable unit may be used independently of the container, bymount g it n a corresp g yonet collar base on a bench, for use of thebristle brush alone.

Many obvious modifications in the form and arrangement of parts may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning and drying device for hairdressing articles such ashairbrushes, combs and the like, comprising a container having an airtube extending centrally through the top thereof and downwardly to alevel close to the bottom of the container, for conducting air suppliedat the top of the tube to the bottom of the container to spread radiallytherein and cause a turbulence in the fluid in the container aroundarticles placed therein for cleaning and drying, said container having ascreen thereacross spaced from the bottom to hold the articles at alevel above the bottom and provide an unrestricted passage for the airfrom said tube to spread toward the periphery of said container toprovide better turbulence throughout said container in a toroidalmanner, a drain cock in the bottom of said container, a hinged door inthe top of said container, a movable baffle in said container below saidhinged door over the level of any liquids therein, for interceptingsplashes of said liquids out of the container when the hinged door isopen, said battle being movable out of the way when direct access to thebottom of the container is desired through said hinged door, as forremoval of the articles therein, a preliminary cleaning attachmenthaving a sleeve, the lower end of which is adapted for connection tosaid blower attaching means, said preliminary cleaning attachmentcomprising a rotating bristle brush in the upper part of said sleeve,having a peripheral portion, exposed through an opening in said sleevefor brushing out loose hairs and dirt from articles held against saidrotating bristles, a motor mounted in said sleeve for driving saidbristle brush above it and having its shaft extetnding below it, a fandriven by the lower extension of said shaft to provide a flow of airdownwardly and cause a suction in said sleeve above it, a heater elementin said sleeve below said fan, a partition in said sleeve between saidmotor and said brush, and a suction conduit from said sleeve below saidpartition to a nozzle opening positioned adjacent the edge of saidsleeve opening at the side toward which the bristle brush is rotatingfor picking up the loose hair and dirt brushed out of said articles andthrown out from said bristles by centrifugal force.

2. A preliminary cleaning attachment for removing loose hair and dirtfrom hairdressing implements such as hairbrushes, combs and the like,comprising an upright sleeve having a motor axially mounted therein inspaced relation to the sleeve and a drive shaft extending upwardly,

a bristle brush mounted on said drive shaft and having a peripheralportion exposed through an opening in the sleeve,

a second motor similarly mounted in said sleeve below the first motorand having a drive shaft extending downwardly,

a fan mounted on said downwardly extending shaft, for blowing airdownwardly and causing a suction in the sleeve above it,

a partition in said sleeve between said first motor and said bristlebrush,

a suction nozzle adjacent the edge of said sleeve opening in thedirection of the bristle brush rotation,

a conduit extending around said sleeve from said suction nozzle to thesuction portion of said sleeve, and

a vacuum bag mounted in said conduit having its inlet end mounted overthe rim of said nozzle to collect the loose hairs and dirt thrown off bythe bristle brush, when a hairdressing implement is being cleaned byholding its dirty portions against the exposed bristle brush.

5 3. A preliminary cleaning attachment as claimed in claim 2, and

separate switches for turning on said motors, so that the attachment maybe used as a blower without operating the bristle brush. 4. Apreliminary cleaning attachment as claimed in claim 3,

a heater element mounted in the lower end of said sleeve, for supplyinghot air when desired, said switch for controlling said second motorbeing a three-way switch having an off position, a motoron position, anda motor and heater-on position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 553,677 1/1896 Hoyt ....134183X 61,542,018 6/1925 Tunstall 68---18 1,898,676 2/1933 Magnus 68--182,753,434 7/1956 Storm 15-344 I 3,170,181 2/1965 Von Werder 15- FOREIGNPATENTS 1,029,759 3/1953 France. 1,390,897 1/1965 France.

841,824 6/ 1952 Germany.

ROBERT W. MI'CHELL, Primary Examiner.

